Her Gambit
by AutumnMobile12
Summary: She hadn't wanted to come back. This castle held nothing but old memories, sad ones as well as sweet ones that had soured through the years. Rated T, eventually M.


Notes: The title behind this one is roundabout and complicated. First of all, the word 'gambit' most often refers to a tactical strategy, especially one that entails a great risk, one uses to gain the upper hand. This definition doesn't fit with this story very much. (Or at all really, so it makes no sense.) But the element in 'gambit' I want to stress is the fact it's a risk, a gamble. I only chose it as a title was because 'risk' sounded like a boring and generic title and 'gamble' implied poker.

AutumnM

Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan is owned by Hajime Isayama.

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 _Her Gambit_

Chapter 1: Silence Descends

 **Monat Februar, Jahr 846**

Isabel would have loved the Topside winters, Levi often found himself thinking. Whenever he saw a fresh blanket of snow covering the earth, he could just imagine his lost friend launching herself face first into the nearest drift of fresh powder with little or no concern for the cold. She would thrash and kick her arms and legs, shrieking in uncontrolled laughter as Farlan would follow her out, standing in the door and regarding the snow with a much calmer air than their female compatriot. Isabel would probably sit up, shaking snowflakes out of her red hair, and beg the two of them to come out and play with her. Farlan would most likely leap after her, and he…

Levi opened his eyes, replacing the dream with the dim shadows of the forest. It was nearly dawn, and the sun had not yet risen from beyond the eastern mountains. Somewhere out of sight, a raven croaked, followed by a quiet flurry of wings as it took flight. Levi lifted his gas lantern over his head, casting a flickering and annoyingly faint light into the darkness. Sina's teeth, he couldn't see a damn thing. Nothing but trees, countless hoof prints in the snow beaten path, white snowflakes as they drifted through the air, and the occasional glimpse of another lantern shining through the darkness.

Cendre pawed the earth in displeasure, tossing her black head and snorting clouds of warm air. "How much longer?" Levi muttered, just as annoyed.

He heard the click of a pocket watch's lid snapping open and a faint _tick, tick, tick_ before Oruo answered. "Not long."

Levi sighed and adjusted the scarf over his nose and mouth. They called this part of Wall Rose the Green Forest, named for its density in the fullness of summer for all of mankind's attempts to tame the thick foliage. He'd passed through it many times the previous year, and the close press of trees from all sides never ceased to provoke an uneasy feeling in his heart. Too many unwelcome dangers could be lurking out there, wild animals and other people alike. His guard was never down. In the monochrome winter, however, the trees stood like barren, black skeletons, eerie as a graveyard in the gloom. _Just a little longer._ Levi sighed, yawning and working his frozen fingers, then twisted the knob on the lantern and extinguished the little gas flame. He could see better without it.

The sky was beginning to give way to the dawn, becoming a deep violet speckled with the few remaining stars from the previous evening. Beside him, Oruo muttered something to himself and patted his horse's neck. The massive gelding snorted in response, stomping one of its forelegs impatiently into the ground. In spite of himself, Levi smiled behind the scarf. They'd seen nothing all night, and while that in itself was a blessing, it made for long, dragging hours of watching 'nothing' in complete silence. And silence had granted him ample time—too much time—to think. And his mind had wandered in every which way it could, thinking far too much about everything. About Isabel and Farlan. About his comrades. About Petra and Günther back at Castle Grünewald, and Eld in Calaneth. About the children and elder folk who didn't survive winter in the Underground. About the Fall.

And the massacre that had been Shiganshina.

He shuddered, a small quiver that might have escaped the notice of most men but seemed to grab Oruo's attention clear as brass bell. Thankfully, the old man said nothing, yet Levi felt concerned eyes all the same. It had been five months since humanity had lost Wall Maria, an agonizing increment of time consisting of the last weeks of autumn's desperation for a final harvest and a long, harsh winter that showed no signs of letting up. Starvation and disease and other hardships had spread like wildfire within their remaining territory, ensuring the possibility of survival to be bleak at best.

 _It wasn't supposed to be like this._ Levi leaned forward and patted his mare's neck. Cendre nickered in reply. Life on the surface was supposed to be easier than what he'd been through in the Underground. In his birthplace, winter was a harbinger bringing forth a season of even greater struggle. When the first snows began to fall through the holes in their cavern skies, everyone knew food would become scarce, illness prevalent, and the cold would worm its unwelcome way into their bones and hearts, freezing everything in its path. He could only imagine the hell it was now and what his former neighbors were going through.

Oruo groaned suddenly and dismounted from his horse, tossing the reins to him. "Hang on to Vittore for me, will you? I need to piss."

The corner of Levi's mouth quirked in a grim smile. "Be sure not to—"

 _BANG!_ A gunshot resounded throughout the forest.

Both men jumped in alarm and Levi's head snapped to the west, quick as an adder, as a flock of crows took flight from a nearby conifer, squawking in terror as they fled. Cursing, Oruo swung himself back onto Vittore and booted the large gelding down one of the many trails the patrols had left behind. Levi followed suit, knocking his heels into Cendre. The mare snorted again in displeasure, large clouds rising from her flaring nostrils. On the ridge above them, he spotted a third horseman, this one an MP, riding abreast with them on another black horse. Their eyes met, dark gray to navy blue, and for an instant, Levi thought he recognized him behind the heavy red scarf guarding his face. A soldier—a friend—who'd lost his life in the Fall. The MP's eyes narrowed, but no one exchanged words as they continued on toward the gunshot. It was close. It couldn't have been much further than Captain Odell's station. Levi slowed his black mare as Oruo and his horse slid down a small slope. Cendre leapt down it once she was clear, and behind him, Levi heard the MP's horse join them on the path.

Within a minute's time, the three of them came upon a group of six or seven horsemen, all Military Police, circled around something in the snow, their unforgiving rifles trained on…a woman. She stood shaking at their center, clad in ragged clothes and a heavy coat that was several sizes two big for her. A scarf and shawl hid most of her face, but even from this distance, Levi could see she was deathly pale and her eyes were terrified. In her trembling arms, she held a child around two or three years of age. And at her feet was a man bleeding into the snow, a crimson puddle growing larger and larger as the seconds ticked by.

"Honey…" The woman gasped.

At Odell's bidding, one of the MPs dismounted and approached the man on the ground, kneeling and turning him over to examine the hole in his shoulder. "You, woman!" The captain barked. "What is your name? Speak up now, I don't have all day!"

"I-Isabella."

Levi flinched. A common enough name perhaps, but…

"Isabella Soriana." Her grip tightened on her young daughter. "Did you kill him?"

Captain Odell ignored the question, his eyes growing ever colder. "And you are aware, Signora Soriana, that unauthorized travel within the Walls is strictly prohibited, no? Where are your papers? Where was your last checkpoint inspection?"

With a shaking hand, the woman reached for the patched bag at her waist and carefully withdrew a small booklet. "H-Here."

Levi stiffened as Odell snapped his fingers and pointed at him, indicating he dismount and inspect woman's papers himself. Hesitantly, he secured his scarf over his nose and mouth and climbed down from Cendre's back and began to approach the shaking woman. Whenever they found families using the backroads and mountain paths, they were usually sick, so he remained as far away from her as he could, reaching out and taking the proffered booklet for examination. Frau Isabella Soriana was originally from Wiese Town, the largest town between Trost and Shiganshina, he read. After the titans had overrun the South City and invaded Wall Maria, she and her family had fled to Trost where they were subsequently relocated to a refugee settlement outside the village of Elterlein. They were on their way to Dauper, deeper into the mountains to stay with relatives. There was a green stamp from Elterlein, but Charbonneau, the next town over, had denied them passage. Scarlet fever, it seemed. Both the woman and the child were afflicted.

"Please, sir." Soriana whispered, tears beginning to stream down her red cheeks, as Levi extended his hand, tugging at the dark blue scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. "Oh, please."

His jaw clenched as he saw the rash on her neck, raw and scabbed over from her insistent scratching. There were three towns between here and Charbonneau. They'd done a hell of a job dodging checkpoints if they'd been able to get this far, especially in the harsh conditions of the forest. Without a word, he replaced the scarf around her neck and turned to Odell, grimly shaking his head.

Sighing, Odell bowed his head and gestured. "All right, then. Take her." Soriana did not even bother to protest as a second MP dismounted and strode toward her. A look of despair came over her and she seemed to shrink in on herself, wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck and putting her hands to her face. The MP's lips curled in a cruel smirk as he grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and produced a pair of manacles from the folds of his cloak.

"Jesu, Kyles!" The captain shouted. "How can you expect the woman to hold her daughter with her hands bound. Do be civil and _escort_ her _politely_ to the cart. Coughlin, how is the signor?"

The rest was a small flurry of activity: Signor Soriana being helped to his feet while his weeping wife, now accompanied by a much abashed Kyles, was led away down the path with her child in tow. There was a prison cart toward the foot of the mountain, already occupied by a young man who'd been fleeing to Dulce Village on the other side of Grünewald, the Green Forest. When this day was over, it would be sent back to the Trost refugee camp and its occupants placed in quarantine. Soriana hung her head as she went, knowing it was futile to resist, and looking around the ring of soldiers, Levi could see clearly he wasn't the only one who pitied her. Kyles, still flustered from the scolding, even dug through his coat pockets and produced what Levi took to be a handkerchief and offered it to the poor woman, murmuring something that couldn't be heard over the distance between them.

"He'll be all right, sir." Their medic reported, gesturing to Signor Soriana. "Once I get that wound cleaned up, that is."

"Please do." Odell nodded, then raised his voice, "The rest of you, back to your posts. Levi, report!"

"Yes, sir." He said and presented the man with Soriana's passport. "Scarlet fever. The kid, too."

"Ah, I figured that was it. What with the way you were inspecting her neck, and all." The captain sighed. "At least they were traveling through relatively unpopulated areas, so it's unlikely she's spread it to anyone else. I'll warn Kyles to take extra care when handling her and—" Odell paused, shielding his eyes as the sun peeked over the mountains, casting a blinding, golden light throughout the valley. "What's the date today, Scout?"

"The fifteenth, sir."

"Mm." Levi braced himself as Captain Odell sucked in a huge breath of air, then bellowed into the morning. "Forty-seventh Division! As of today, your patrol has ended. Collect your silver and report back to Castle Grünewald for a long overdue rest. I don't want to see any of your ugly faces here after the hour, you hear!"

A collective and much relieved cheer rose up from a group of Garrison soldiers further up the path, and a startled gelding reared and threw his rider into a snowbank. Levi rolled his eyes, suppressing a sigh of relief as he saluted Odell and hurried back to Cendre. It had been four weeks since he'd seen the inside of a building. One long and frozen month spent patrolling the forest roads for bandits, poachers, and civilians traveling illegally between towns, supervising the supply lines between the rural settlements and refugee camps, and generally freezing his ass off in the wilderness. He'd wanted nothing to do with the job at first, but the military was promising a small wage for their services as well as a hot meal twice a day, and he was in need of both.

Twenty-eight hard-earned copper, he grimaced. Hopefully, it was enough for the outrageous prices of food these days. And enough to pay the medic caring for Petra. He wondered how she was, and how she'd been in the weeks since he'd last seen her. Cendre greeted him with a warm muzzle to the face as he approached, but eager to be on his way, he pushed her aside with a gentle pat and clambered back into the saddle.

"Finally, no more sleeping on the cold, hard ground like ferrets, eh?" Shouted a nearby man from the Garrison.

The Scout beside him rolled her eyes. "That's the thing with you Wall guards. No stamina or any experience in harsh conditions."

"Oh, really?" The man laughed. "Let's not forget your division is inactive during the winter season. We go year round."

"Yes, year round drinking and playing cards." Another voice, an MP this time, called down to them from the further up the slope. "I know, I know, said the kettle to the pot, but still…who are you to say…

Levi found himself smiling. The job hadn't been so bad, though. There had been camaraderie on those cold nights, even with the Brigade soldiers. Every night, they had spent mealtime sitting around a blazing fire, chatting, and enjoying each other's company like ordinary people. They sang songs and told stories, laughed and joked, as though this were just a normal dinner among friends rather than an endeavor to manage the chaos that had followed the loss of their territory. Before he'd began these patrols, Levi had never really thought of the MPs as understanding or compassionate, but they were no more strangers to hardship than he was. They had all lost friends and family, they had all felt pain, and since the Wall came down, they too were all starving. Yet they—and everyone else—were good people and the brief snatches of sleep he'd found on the cold, hard ground huddled beside his horse had been easier with them nearby than if he'd been alone.

"It'll be good for morale." He overheard a woman's voice and saw an MP and young Scout he was certain had not been friends a month ago. "I know I miss my children."

The Scout girl grinned back. "It should be soon, shouldn't it?"

"If not already." The MP woman smiled and ruffled her hair.

Levi jumped as someone tapped his arm and he turned to stare at Oruo riding alongside him. "For you." The old man muttered, holding out a closed fist. Frowning, Levi held his palm, then jumped as his comrade dropped four coins into his hand. "Don't try to give those back now. I'm out here for Pet's sake just as much as you are."

"Will you be able to last four weeks on only seventeen copper?" Levi asked. "The price for bread has probably gone up again, you know."

"I'll be fine." Oruo booted his horse and trotted back up the road. "An old man doesn't eat near as much as an expectant woman does."

Levi's face fell as he was left behind, staring at the pile of coins in his hand. Four weeks. She'd be close to her time by now, if it hadn't already happened while he was away. If that were the case though, Günther would've ridden out here to tell them the news, good or ill. Or he would've sent someone else with a message. He and Oruo weren't too far from the Survey Corps' old headquarters and there hadn't been any serious storms in the past few days. If anything had happened to Petra while they'd been gone, they would've known. Levi closed his eyes, trying to remember the last time he'd seen her. The morning he'd left for the Grün Road, she'd been too sick to get out of bed. He remembered the auburn tangle of hair crowning her head and her dark, hollow eyes as she looked at him.

"Come back soon." Was her faint reply when he told her it was time for him to leave. "Come back soon."

"Oi, Rogue, you coming or what?" Oruo shouted back at him.

Levi booted Cendre as dark clouds swallowed the sun and snow began to fall upon the world. He was so damn tired of thinking.


End file.
